Lenovo laptop suddenly restarts, hardware issue

[pteradox]

I've had a Lenovo IdeaPad Z570 since this past summer which has worked fairly fine in most aspects. However, just recently (over the past several days) it has come into the habit of shutting off at random and instantly rebooting, as if I had just turned it on. This occurs both under Ubuntu Linux and Windows 7, so I'm fairly certain it is not a software issue. I also ran Memtest and received no errors, so I think I can rule memory out as well.

Also, sometimes after this occurs, it is difficult to get the laptop running again. I'll press the power button, the LEDs will light, and then it will power off again. Last time I had to power on about four times before it actually started booting, but then it worked fine.

The only recent hardware change was a hard drive replacement (moved from factory hard drive to an OCZ SSD). I doubt that the new SSD is the issue because it seems to be a power or BIOS issue, and this started occurring a number of weeks after I installed the new drive. However, it may be possible that I inadvertently damaged something in the process, though I don't remember any screwdriver slips or liquid accidents.

I also do not believe this is limited to AC power. It only occurs a couple of times a day, so I can't adequately test by leaving it on battery power all day. However, last time it turned off and I had to struggle to get it back on, I unplugged it while doing so and had no luck. Finally, I believe it tends to happen when I use the laptop (keys or mouse, as opposed to it just happening while idling) though I'm not certain.

Anyways, I'd prefer to avoid having to take it in for diagnostics and paying a huge bill for it. Does anyone have any idea what specific hardware issues might fit this bill, how I can check/diagnose them, or (if possible) how I can fix them or replace one part without having to go to a repair center or buy a new machine?

 

[Bromeh]

I've had a Lenovo IdeaPad Z570 since this past summer which has worked fairly fine in most aspects. However, just recently (over the past several days) it has come into the habit of shutting off at random and instantly rebooting, as if I had just turned it on. This occurs both under Ubuntu Linux and Windows 7, so I'm fairly certain it is not a software issue. I also ran Memtest and received no errors, so I think I can rule memory out as well.

Also, sometimes after this occurs, it is difficult to get the laptop running again. I'll press the power button, the LEDs will light, and then it will power off again. Last time I had to power on about four times before it actually started booting, but then it worked fine.

The only recent hardware change was a hard drive replacement (moved from factory hard drive to an OCZ SSD). I doubt that the new SSD is the issue because it seems to be a power or BIOS issue, and this started occurring a number of weeks after I installed the new drive. However, it may be possible that I inadvertently damaged something in the process, though I don't remember any screwdriver slips or liquid accidents.

I also do not believe this is limited to AC power. It only occurs a couple of times a day, so I can't adequately test by leaving it on battery power all day. However, last time it turned off and I had to struggle to get it back on, I unplugged it while doing so and had no luck. Finally, I believe it tends to happen when I use the laptop (keys or mouse, as opposed to it just happening while idling) though I'm not certain.

Anyways, I'd prefer to avoid having to take it in for diagnostics and paying a huge bill for it. Does anyone have any idea what specific hardware issues might fit this bill, how I can check/diagnose them, or (if possible) how I can fix them or replace one part without having to go to a repair center or buy a new machine?

Seems like overheating. When the processor is too hot (which happens a lot in laptops) the computer shut down by itself to prevent the cpu to be hurt. That's why you can't start it right after i guess. Try to get the dust out of the computer and try it again.


- The Brownie

 

[Gamoholic]

Use something like HWMonitor to watch temps and Prime95 to stress the CPU.

 

[pteradox]

I'll install a benchmarking program, but I'm a little iffy on it being a CPU issue. For one, it's not even a year old, and I've never had overheating issues before. For another, there aren't any audible fan noises or notable heat increases when it happens. Finally, the inside is fairly clean and clear of dust. Plus, don't overheating hardware parts generally trigger the shutdown process in an OS, not a sudden reset?

I'll put the programs up just in case but I'm not entirely convinced.

 

[Bromeh]

If you say so.

Defective battery ?


- The Brownie

 

[pteradox]

Just an update on the CPU thing. The CPU seems to be running at a normal temperature. Furthermore, using the Linux utility cpuburn, I can stress test it and bring it to mid 70 degrees levels without it shutting down (probably higher as well). I also can hear and feel the heat which I never feel before it shuts down, so I'm fairly certain that overheating isn't to blame.

Defective battery ?

It happens on AC power as well, so I'm not sure about that. I'm thinking it is likely either an issue with the BIOS or the circuitry/boards that handle power management. As a side note, I did recently enable Intel VT technology on my BIOS, though I'm not sure why that would cause this kind of issue. I'll switch it off and see.

I'll also go digging through some logs to see if there's anything written about it before it blanks.

 

[Bromeh]

Just an update on the CPU thing. The CPU seems to be running at a normal temperature. Furthermore, using the Linux utility cpuburn, I can stress test it and bring it to mid 70 degrees levels without it shutting down (probably higher as well). I also can hear and feel the heat which I never feel before it shuts down, so I'm fairly certain that overheating isn't to blame.

Defective battery ?

It happens on AC power as well, so I'm not sure about that. I'm thinking it is likely either an issue with the BIOS or the circuitry/boards that handle power management. As a side note, I did recently enable Intel VT technology on my BIOS, though I'm not sure why that would cause this kind of issue. I'll switch it off and see.

I'll also go digging through some logs to see if there's anything written about it before it blanks.

Try to reset everything to default in the bios and stress for a good 30mins.


- The Brownie

 

[pteradox]

My BIOS is fairly limited, so there's not much to reset. The only non-default setting is the boot order which I very much doubt is suspect here. I did reset the VT to disabled. I'll put the CPU under some load and see.

I checked Windows' logs and while it acknowledges an unexpected shutdown on the next reboot, it has absolutely no messages at the time of the shutdown itself. Linux's kernel log starts right after the last time this event occurred on Linux.

 

[Bromeh]

Alright, keep me informed on this. If you really can't get it to work, you better RMA it because it's some hardware problem for sure.


- The Brownie

 

[pteradox]

Yeah, that might be an issue. After installing a new SSD and completely wiping old HDD I'm not sure how friendly service is going to be with me. Plus it's a lenovo and they aren't known for their customer support, or so I've heard.

I know someone who is an electrical engineer and has lots of the tools that might help in a case like this. If you could think of a particular part of the motherboard that may be affected I might be able to replace it.

 

[Bromeh]

Yeah, that might be an issue. After installing a new SSD and completely wiping old HDD I'm not sure how friendly service is going to be with me. Plus it's a lenovo and they aren't known for their customer support, or so I've heard.

I know someone who is an electrical engineer and has lots of the tools that might help in a case like this. If you could think of a particular part of the motherboard that may be affected I might be able to replace it.

I'm not a pro when talking about laptops but i'm sure it's about power. You battery might not be faulty but what about the ac adapter ? If it's working okay, it might be something about cooling (maybe something else than the processor). You can also test your ram using memtest86+. Faulty ram make a lot of problems. The last point i would be checking is the motherboard. At that point, it's time for a new laptop.


- The Brownie

 

[pteradox]

It definitely does seem to be a power issue, but if it was the battery then the AC would keep it on (it's almost always on AC) and if it was the AC adapter then the battery would hold the weight. I very much doubt it is both. Both my GPU and CPU are showing very low heat usage. Also, I ran Memtest and found no errors. Plus when the issue occurs in the earliest stages of boot (aka before the bootloader is even reached) I'm not sure about it being a memory issue. It would be great if I could get some error printout of what's happening. Next time it occurs I'll check my Linux kernel log and hope it recorded something.

I think I'll try testing it out without the battery. The battery is definitely connected to the motherboard in some ways (the BIOS can report battery discharge rates and such) so there's the possibility that there's a problem on that end, even if the battery isn't being used. I also remember once having difficulty turning it on (the power button wasn't working) and removing and replacing the battery helped.


Update: Just minutes after posting this, it happened again. This confirms that it isn't the VT in the BIOS or the battery. I went digging through Linux's logs and found nothing of note, although I did notice that it didn't print the line 'Kernel logging (proc) stopped.' that it usually does when shutdown occurs. This probably just means that it is not attached to the operating system at all, which is no news.

 

[pteradox]

Well this sucks. After paying $20 in shipping and having it repaired under warranty (apparently they don't care what I do with the hard drive), I got it back 12 days later and the problem seems to have occurred again. They completely replaced the motherboard, so that doesn't seem to be the issue.

I'm honestly just going to have to live with it, I suppose. I'm actually not sure if it happens much on battery power so I'll test that and see.

 

[pteradox]

Just as a final update if anyone stumbles across this thread with a similar problem, it turned out to be a faulty CPU. After replacing the motherboard (again) and the CPU (at which point a new laptop would have cost them less), my issues are gone.

 

[X121e]

Hello,
I have the same problem with my new Lenovo X121e, can you please tell me what should I do? and How much was the costs?

 

[Bromeh]

Hello,
I have the same problem with my new Lenovo X121e, can you please tell me what should I do? and How much was the costs?

Send it back unless you want to mess up your whole hardware. If they can't repair it, buy a new one. It's cheaper than repairing it.


- The Brownie

 

[pteradox]

Hello,
I have the same problem with my new Lenovo X121e, can you please tell me what should I do? and How much was the costs?

Actually, the process was completely free of charge since they didn't seem to care too much that I had replaced the hard drive (I wouldn't let them in on info like that though). I was still under the 1 year limited warranty. However, it did take forever and I had to pay shipping (to Texas, about $20) the first time.

 

[warehard]

Just as a final update if anyone stumbles across this thread with a similar problem, it turned out to be a faulty CPU. After replacing the motherboard (again) and the CPU (at which point a new laptop would have cost them less), my issues are gone.

Thanks for the follow up - I am having the same problem.

Is there any CPU diagnostic test that would be able to demonstrate the fault in the chip?

 

[jay mehta]

Well this sucks. After paying $20 in shipping and having it repaired under warranty (apparently they don't care what I do with the hard drive), I got it back 12 days later and the problem seems to have occurred again. They completely replaced the motherboard, so that doesn't seem to be the issue.

I'm honestly just going to have to live with it, I suppose. I'm actually not sure if it happens much on battery power so I'll test that and see.

Hi,
My lenovo T510 reboots automatically and it does not gracefully shutdown. It is a sudden reboot and happens randomly any time after the bios. For 3 years it has never given any problem and all of sudden this problem has started.

I have tried to isolate the problem :
1. I have dual boot my machine. And this happens on both windows7 and Linux OS. So this must not be OS issue.
2. Also the temperature is low: 46 deg C. So not an heating issue.
3. I found the problem happen when working on AC plugin without battery. So not a battery problem.
4. Lenovo diagnostic tool passed 100% for all tests including memory , hard disk, motherboard.
5. No hardware modified in my laptop.

I am also planning to update BIOS to see if its because of BIOS virus.
Any suggestions please?

 

[ManoLee]

I have a Lenovo g50-45 and it has exactly the same problem. With no apparent reason it shuts down and the fan spins at 100%.
This happens randomly but mostly when I try to install Windows 10 with the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft or when installing too many updates. HWmonitor reports normal temperatures for both the CPU and GPU so overheating is not the case. I've read somewhere in a Lenovo forum that the culprit is the PLNR. I don't know what it is exactly but it has something to do with the motherboard.
Too bad for me, I have already opened up the laptop to clean the fan so the sticker on the motherboard screw is ripped, which might mean "Bye-bye warranty".
Maybe Lenovo starts to show their weaknesses in "inexpensive" laptops such the one I have. It only cost me 250 euros and I begin to understand why.